Sailor Moon A
Story 2
By: Jackie Chiang <airashii@airashii.org>

-------

Updated Notes (February 2001)

This is the second story in the "Sailormoon A" series.  It's supposed to
 be a comedy, but no one really likes it.  *shrug*  Actually, it probably
 is one of my weakest stories, like most of my comedies.  It has a lot 
of impossibilities that would and could never occur.  (In particular, the
 racing scene was modeled after something that happened in "Saber Rider
 and the Star Sheriffs.")  One of my friends at the time wanted to read a
 fanfic with a car chase, so I wrote this.

This is the third revision of the story (the fourth edition).  This fanfic
 has been reformatted and spell checked.  Some of the lame comments in 
parenthesizes, mentioned below, were taken out.  It was originally released
 in 1996.  As you can tell from the final comment, this was written when
 I was actually productive :P

-------

Original Notes (1996)

Yup. This is another Sailor Moon A story.  It's NOT a sequel though.  
Sailor Moon A is just a series of stories that are not connected in any
 way, other than the fact that the events occurring in them would never
 be shown in the regular Sailor Moon series.  FYI, this story is based
 heavily around Kaioh Michiru and Tenoh Haruka, two of my favorite Sailor
 Senshi.  If you hate their guts, get lost.  They're filthy rich, 
gorgeous, and smart; if you have a problem with that, live with it!  My
 Japanese sucks, not that I'm using too much of it :).  This story isn't
 really depressive or sad, except maybe towards the end. I tried to combine
 an element of humor into them. Hmm. My title is VERY similar to another
 one, not written by me. You're special if you can guess which one.:) 
 Some of the characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko and are being 
used without her permission. I have added some silly or stupid comments 
in parenthesis for no particular reason.  You can just ignore them, as 
they might take away the mood. :) Oh yeah, this is supposed to be _funny_
 and not taken too seriously.

-------

"Haruka and Michiru"

As the last notes echoed in the amphitheater, the crowd was silent.  After
 a stunned minute, the crowd surged to its feet, clapping and cheering.  
There were even a few whistles from the American visitors.  The green 
haired young woman on the stage smiled and bowed.  She left the stage but
 was soon pushed back by a blond girl on for another round of applause.

In the front row, a young woman and a tall man were clapping the loudest.
  The blue-eyed girl had an odd hairstyle; her blond hair was pulled into
 two spherical objects, that resembled odangos.  She wore a sleeveless 
white dress that's skirt fell a little past her knees.  The man had black
 hair and dark blue eyes, and he wore a black tuxedo.

Wasn't Michiru-san wonderful, Mamo-chan?" the young woman sighed.

The man nodded.  "Yes, her performance tonight was beyond words.  Her 
violin playing was the best I've ever heard her do."

"Let's go see her backstage," the blond said enthusiastically.

Mamoru laughed.  "Usako, the performance isn't over yet.  Michiru still
 has to perform another piece."

"Oh, yeah," Usagi said, making a face.  "I forgot.  Oh well, I don't 
mind hearing her play the violin some more."

They sat down as did the crowd.  Several rows behind them, several men 
were whispering to each other.

"Is she the girl?" one man with black hair asked in Italian.

"It has to be," the man with brown hair replied.  "She fits the
 description perfectly, and see how her music sounds!"

"Are you sure?" a third man asked skeptically.  "We _are_ several rows
 away
 from the stage."

"Trust me," the second man said confidently.  "See that blond girl behind
 the curtains?  She fits the other description as well."

"Very well then," the third man said.  "After the performance, you know 
what to do."


Michiru finished bowing and left the stage.  Waiting for her was a tall
 girl with short blond hair who resembled a boy.  The girl was wearing
 a man's dark suit.  The two young women hugged.

"You were fantastic, Michiru," the girl said proudly.

Michiru smiled, snuggling up to her.  "Remember, Haruka, it wasn't just 
me that was great.  It was the violin too."

Haruka kissed Michiru's head.  "So what?  You were still great."

They were about to kiss when Usagi interrupted their personal movement
 by coming backstage.  "Hey, Michiru-san!"

Sweat drops appeared on the two older girls.  Usagi noticed that they
 were looking at her in a funny way.  "Umm, did I interrupt something?"

"No, of course not," Haruka said, recovering first.  "We're glad 
you came, odango atama."

Mamoru entered then, carrying a big bouquet of roses.  "Here, Michiru.
  Usagi and I brought them for you."  He set them down on a nearby 
table.

"Oh, they're wonderful!" Michiru said, smelling them.  "Arigato.  But 
how on earth could you afford them?"

Mamoru shrugged.  "I have a rose garden on the balcony of my apartment.
  I always have a lot growing there, and in the winter I just grow them
 inside."

"You were terrific, Michiru-san!" Usagi gushed.  "I've never heard you 
play so well before."

Michiru smiled.  "Well, it might have something to do with the special 
violin I was using."

She and Haruka exchanged secretive smiles, while Usagi and Mamoru just
 watched.

"So where are you guys going now?" Usagi asked.  "Do you want to join 
us for dinner?  I'm afraid that we took a taxi over, so we'd have to 
take one over to the restaurant."

Haruka looked at Michiru.  The green haired girl nodded, smiling.  "That
 would be great," Haruka answered.  "We can ride in my car."

Usagi grinned happily, while Mamoru frowned.  "Aren't you a little young
 to be driving?" he asked puzzled.

"Errr, I got my license overseas," Haruka answered quickly.

"You two go on ahead outside.  We'll be right out," Michiru said sweetly.

Usagi and Mamoru nodded and went out to the parking lot.

"Now," Michiru asked, putting her arms around Haruka's neck, "where were
 we?"



"Where's Haruka's car?" Mamoru asked Usagi as they searched for her car.

She pointed to the screaming yellow sports car.  "That's it right over
 there."

Haruka and Michiru came out behind them.  "Good," Michiru said, "you found
 Haruka's car."

"It's kind of hard to miss," Mamoru said dryly under his breath.

Just then a black car raced by.  The window flew down, and a gun was pulled
 out.  Bullets flew from it towards the four.

"Get down!" Haruka shouted as a bullet narrowly missed her ear.

She pushed Michiru down, and protected her by covering her.  Mamoru did 
like wise to Usagi.  All the bullets went over their heads.  They could 
hear the gun run out of bullets, and it was pulled back inside the window.
  The car drove right on by, and the smell of burning rubber filled the 
night air.  When Haruka was sure that the car was gone, she helped Michiru
 get up.

Haruka looked at her girlfriend.  "So they finally found us," she said
 grimly.

"We always knew that they would," Michiru replied softly.

"What's going on?" Mamoru demanded, holding a terrified Usagi, who, oddly
 enough, wasn't crying.  The poor girl was probably in shock, Michiru 
thought.  "Why were we shot at?"

The two girls looked at each other and both nodded.  "I guess we had better
 explain," Haruka sighed.  "I guess this means that we won't make it for 
dinner.  We'll fill you in on the way to your home."

The four climbed into Haruka's car.  The blond girl got into the right 
seat and closed the door.  Putting in the key, she started the engine.  
She pulled the car out of the parking lot and onto the road.

After a minute or two of composing herself, Michiru started.  "You see, 
it all started about a year ago, before we met you Inner Senshi..."

_______________________________________________________________________


"Haruka!" Michiru called out to the blond girl in the pit.

Haruka turned around to see the familiar green haired girl waving at 
her from the stands.  She grinned and waved back, then put on her 
racing helmet.  She climbed into her race car, car number 910.  She 
drove the car to the starting line, waiting, her adrenaline already 
pumping.  THIS is what she lived for.  This was one of the few things
 in life that she craved and would do anything in the world for.

"Here comes car 910, with the famous star driver, Tenoh Haruka!" the 
announcer said into the microphone.  All of the girls in the stands 
started screaming excitedly, since they were under the impression 
that Haruka was a hot guy, and not a girl.

"Oh, Haruka is soo cool!" one red haired girl next to Michiru said.

"I wonder if he's available..." another blue haired girl sighed.

Michiru looked at them, slightly amused.  " I'M Haruka's girlfriend,"
 she told them with a touch of possessiveness in her voice.

"Ohhhh..." both girls said, looking at the lovely girl.  They didn't say
 anything else about Haruka's availability, but continued to scream
 her name, albeit a little softer.

"OK," the announcer said.  " Get ready.  On your mark, get set...GO!!"

The cars sped off.  Haruka took a very commanding lead from the start.  
However, a black car was right behind her.  Haruka glanced at the number
 and noted with amusement that it was car 546, driver Kenoh Ryu, her 
biggest rival.  He had always come in second after her, never beating 
her.  Obviously, he resented her very much.

The race continued as the cars sped on.  Several cars skidded out of 
control and off the road, but none collided too severely.  That was what
 Haruka loved.  The challenge, the risk of danger, the realization that
 she could lose control at any moment, the coming of face to face with
 death...

Coming around for the last lap, Haruka held onto her first position.  
Ryu had made several attempts to race past Haruka, but she was too 
experienced to let him by.  Suddenly, Haruka sensed something was wrong.
  She couldn't control the steering wheel.  She had to slam on the 
breaks or risk crashing.  She immediately tried, but they were dead.  
Someone had fixed her car, and she had a pretty good idea who.  Haruka 
wasn't going to panic, even as her car skidded off the road and into 
the wall...

Michiru noticed proudly that Haruka was maintaining a lead in front of 
everyone, including that Ryu.  She hoped that Haruka beat Ryu again, 
since she didn't like him.  Ryu had once tried to hit on Michiru, but
 Haruka came and beat him up.  Not that she had to.  Michiru could have
 handled the situation herself with a few well placed kicks, 
but she didn't mind Haruka protecting her.

Then Michiru noticed something odd.  Haruka wasn't doing as well as she 
had before, which was unusual.  The whole crowd realized too that
 something was wrong with car 910.

"Haruka's losing control!" one person yelled.

"His car's going to crash if he doesn't try to slow down!"

Michiru gasped as Haruka's car drove off the track and into the wall, 
bursting into flames.  " Haruka!!" Michiru screamed.  She didn't notice
 the other fans in the stands screaming in terror as well.

She immediately ran to the site of the wreckage, where there were
 people all around, spraying the fire with water and carbon dioxide.

"Haruka!" Michiru yelled, tears streaming down her face.  She started
 crying when she couldn't see the blond anywhere.

"Hey, Michiru," a familiar voice said from behind her.

Michiru spun around to see a smoke covered and bruised, but alive, 
Haruka.  She ran into her arms.

"Haruka!  But how...?"

Haruka smiled.  "You didn't think that I was crazy enough to stay in 
the car, did you?  I took your advice from awhile back and installed 
an ejection seat.  I got out just I time."

Michiru sighed with relief.  "You scared me.  I don't think I want you
 racing again for a while."

"OK," Haruka said amiably.  "I need to have my car fixed anyway.  
How about we take a vacation to Italy?"



"Well, Haruka," Michiru said in flawless Italian, "Italy certainly is..."

"Beautiful?" the cab driver suggested.  "Lovely?  Fantastic?  Wonderful?
  Gorgeous?  Too good to be true?"  The taxi drove by a large bill board 
with a nude woman on it.

"Different," Michiru said.

"Here's the hotel," the driver said, pulling over.

"Thank you," Haruka said.  She paid the driver the fare as Michiru got 
out onto the sidewalk.  The taxi sped off, but Haruka and Michiru hardly
 noticed.  They looked at the hotel.

It was tall, with 30 stories.  It was made of brick and painted white.  
There was the name of the hotel in gold letters on the building.  Outside 
was a lovely rose garden and fresh trimmed grass all around.  Men and 
women wearing the latest and most expensive Italian fashions walked in 
and out of the red doors that were held open by two uniformed
 men.

"Quaint," Michiru said.

They picked up their luggage and went inside.  They ordered two rooms 
that were connected by a door.  Then the two girls went to their rooms.  
The bell boy was a little weakling who took forever bringing up their
 suitcases, so Haruka just told him to get lost while paying him some
 money.  He did as he was told when he saw the amount of money Haruka 
gave him.

Michiru went into the left room while Haruka took the right one.  
Michiru was finished putting her clothes away when Haruka knocked on 
the connecting door.  "Come in."

Haruka walked in, looking like a girl.  She wore a very nice outfit.  
She had on a white shirt with a necklace that had a cross on it.  She
 wore white shorts and comfortable white shoes.  On her head she had a 
pair of shades.

"So, Michiru," Haruka said.  " Where should we go first?"

"Let's go to some museums," Michiru said.

"Especially the ones dealing with music, hmm?"

"Yes, especially them," Michiru answered, smiling.



"Well, that was fun," Haruka said dryly as they came out of another
 museum.  "How many places are dedicated to Stradivari, anyway?"

Michiru laughed at the blonde.  "Really, Haruka.  Antonio Stradivari was
 the greatest maker of violins in history.  Of course there are so many 
places that honor his genius.  I'd love to own one of his violins."

"Then why don't you just _buy_ one?" Haruka asked.  "It's not like we 
can't afford one.  We can afford _all_ of them."

"Come on, Haruka," her girlfriend said.  "Aren't you exaggerating?"

"Well, maybe ninety-nine hundredths of all the violins."

Michiru considered her statement.  "True," she said finally.  "But the
 problem is, no one wants to sell them."

Haruka noticed that Michiru seemed depressed at what she had just said.
  "It's okay, Michiru.  Hey, how about we go to a concert tonight?  I 
bought some tickets, and there's supposed to be one of those Stradivari
 violins there."

Michiru looked excited.  "That's great!  I've always wanted to hear one 
of those."

Haruka smiled.  She hated to see Michiru unhappy, so she was glad at her
 mood change.

"Good.  Be ready at six."



"I don't like this color on me," Michiru said, looking at herself in the
 mirror.  " Maybe I should go change."

"Michiru!" Haruka exclaimed, pointing to a clock.  "We're going to be 
late!  You look terrific!"

"Well, if you say so," the other answered doubtfully.

"Let's get moving!"

They left the building, looking gorgeous.  Michiru wore a white dress, 
formal and demure.  Haruka had on a black one that was louder, but not
 enough to be considered rebellious.  In her right lobe she had in her
 gold hoop.

Haruka called for a cab.  They headed for the place where the concert 
was being held.  When they reached the large, empty looking building, 
they went inside.  They found their way to the main hall, and sat down
 in their seats.

There were many people there, but it was unusually quiet.  The girls 
wondered at this, but said nothing.  Everyone clapped loudly as the 
violinist walked onto the stage.  He bowed, waited for the applause to 
die down, then began playing.  He was talented, but Michiru could 
surpass him easily.  However, the Stradivari violin that he was using
 improved his abilities.

He played several songs.  Michiru was enraptured by the violin's sound.  
It was the sweetest music that she had ever heard before.  More than 
anything else in the world, she wanted one of those violins.  Specifically
 _that_ violin.  For some reason, Michiru was certain that that violin
 was the best Stradivari had ever created.  She wondered how she knew
 as she had never heard any other one before, but did not question her 
knowledge.

At the end of the performance, everyone stood up and applauded.  The man
 left the stage.

"Who is that guy?" Haruka asked the woman next to her in perfect Italian.

"You don't know?" the woman asked, surprised.  "Why, everyone knows him.
  He's the leader of the Italian Mafia, and he lives here.  All who could
 buy tickets know that.  That's why we had to say the special password 
in order to get them."

"Right," Haruka covered up quickly.  "I just-uhhh, has some memory loss."

She turned to Michiru.  " I think we had better leave..."

"Right," Michiru answered, having heard the whole conversation.

They quickly left the building and went into a nearby alley.

"Haruka!" Michiru said.  " I thought that you said that you bought 
those tickets!"

"I did!"

"Then how did you know the password?"

"I don't know!  I just went to buy them from some guy.  He looked at me
 and said 'cheese.'  I automatically said 'whiz,' and then he gave me
 the tickets!"

"Talk about your dumb luck," Michiru muttered.  "So we just listened to
 some guy from the Italian Mafia while surrounded by hundreds of violent,
 illegal criminals who could have shot us at any moment, killing us 
instantly."

"That sounds about right," Haruka said.

Michiru was silent.  " Haruka, this might sound crazy, but I want to do
 something totally dangerous.  It could risk us our necks.  We could
 die.  We might never get home-"

"Sounds like fun," Haruka said, smiling devilishly.  "When do we start?"

"Haruka," Michiru warned, " I'm serious."

The blonde looked at her, surprised.  " I know.  So what's your idea?"

"You know that Stradivari violin that that man was playing?" Michiru 
asked wistfully.

"Let me guess," Haruka said, " you want it, but since you know he's 
never going to sell it to you, so you want to steal it."

"How did you know?" Michiru asked.

"I can tell these things about you," Haruka said, smiling.  "All
 right, we'll do it.  First let's get back to the hotel."



"Michiru, tell me why I agreed to do this again," Haruka whispered
 to her partner.  It was night, and they were dressed in black and 
were crawling slowly up the fire escape of the building.

"As you said, and I quote, 'Sounds like fun.  When do we start?'" 
Michiru answered.

"Great.  Me and my big mouth."

"Shhh..." Michiru hissed as a shadow passed by.  They flattened 
themselves as much as they could to the stairs.  As the shadow came
 nearer, they saw that it was just a cat.

"Phew," Haruka sighed.  "You know, I'm starting to have second 
thoughts about this.  I don't think that being caught and then blown
 away by a zillion criminals is exactly fun."

"You're not chickening out, are you?" Michiru asked as they continued 
their way up the building.

"Of course not," Haruka said, her pride suffering.  "I just want to get 
this over with so we can go home."

"We're here," Michiru whispered.  They were at the window of a room on 
the thirteenth floor.  Carefully Michiru opened the window.

"What kind of security is this?" the blonde demanded as they crept 
silently into the room.  "Those ten guards in front were easily defeated, 
and now this window isn't locked!  This guy isn't very alert for a 
mobster."

Fortunately, the room was empty.  Haruka went to the door of the room 
and opened it.  She looked into the hall.  Seeing that no one was there,
 she motioned with her head to Michiru.  The green haired girl followed
 Haruka into to the hall.  Everything was dark and silent.

"Hmm.  No one must be home," Haruka quipped.  She walked down the 
corridor until she reached the elevator.  Next to it was a map.  Turning
 on a flashlight, she studied it carefully.

Michiru looked over her shoulder.  "I wonder where they're keeping the
 violin..."

Haruka swerved her head.  "How about that place marked 'Violin Hall'?"

"Sure," Michiru said, a little embarrassed at the fact that she missed
 such an obvious clue.  "Let's check it out."

"OK.  It's on the twelfth floor.  Michiru, I am _not_ going to go back
 down that fire escape."

"Well, how about we take the stairs then?"

Haruka turned to the them.  "Let's get moving."

Sneaking quietly along, they moved down the long stairs until they got 
to the floor beneath them.  They went behind a wall.  Haruka carefully 
stuck her head out, looking around.  The place was swarming with men.

"Damnit, Michiru!" she said.  "This level must have fifty fat Mafia guys
 on it!"

Michiru stood silent, her back leaning against the wall.  Finally she 
smiled.  "It's nothing that Sailor Neptune and Your Anus can't handle."

"Ha ha," Haruka snorted softly.  "Your anus too.  Let's do it."

"Uranus Planet Power, Make-Up!"

"Neptune Planet Power, Make-Up!"

The two girls held up their transformation pens as they yelled this.  
(They weren't heard, for some odd reason.  The Sailor Senshi are just cool
 like that.)  They twirled their pens around them.  A yellow beam 
surrounded Haruka as her fuku appeared on her.  Her body twirled around
 and her mouth glimmered faintly as she opened her eyes.  She smiled as 
she landed on the ground.  Michiru was engulfed in a stream of water.  
She was underwater as her sailor fuku came on her.  She turned and 
lipstick appeared and vanished on her mouth as well.  She landed next to
 her partner.  Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune had arrived!

"Should we attack them out right?" the girl clad in a dark blue sailor 
fuku asked.

"Yes," the other, who wore a sea green fuku, replied, "we need to take
 them by surprise."

"Great!" Uranus said.  "I feel like kicking somebody's butt today."

The two girls leaped out from their hiding place.

"Deep Submerge!" Sailor Neptune yelled, a powerful water ball coming
 from her hand.  Her attack took care of two fifths of the men there.

Before the guards could react, Uranus stopped them.  "World Shaking!"
 she shouted, felling the rest of them.

The two Sailor Senshi looked at each other, grinning.  
That was too easy.

"Let's get that violin and leave!" Uranus said, looking at her partner.

Neptune nodded.  They ran through the long showcase of violins, 
glancing at each of them.  "There it is!" she said as she spotted it.  
It was encased in glass.  She moved towards it.

"Wait!" Uranus said, stopping the overly anxious girl.  "Do you have 
your blush with you?"

Neptune stared at her, one of her eyebrows raised in surprise.  "Really, 
Haruka.  Now is not exactly a good time to be putting on make-up."

"Just do it!" Uranus said.  Neptune sighed, and handed over her compact.
  Uranus opened it up, and blew some of the powder into the area.  The 
powder revealed many laser beams surrounding the case.

Neptune made a gurgling sound.  The blonde could tell that she was really
 pissed off.

"How do we approach this, Ms. Einstein?" Uranus asked sarcastically.

Neptune thought about it for a minute or two.  "Now if we measure this
 angle, and find the value of sine 30, then plug the total values into
 the distance formula..."

Uranus sighed impatiently.  "Why don't I just do this?  WORLD SHAKING!"

The blast shattered the glass.  Fortunately, the violin wasn't damaged.

"Now what?" Neptune asked.

"Let me try to get by those lasers," the other answered confidently, 
even though Neptune looked a bit skeptical.

Uranus avoided the lasers beautifully as she flipped, rolled, and stepped
 over them.  Unfortunately, near the end, she accidentally miscalculated
 her aim and triggered an alarm.

"Forget this," Uranus muttered as a harsh, loud beeping sound alerted 
everyone in the building of their presence.  She grabbed the violin 
and raced out of the room, Neptune close behind.

Just then a couple of mobsters with large guns appeared in front of them.
  Neptune used her Deep Submerge to knock them down, and they raced past
 the bodies on the floor.  Suddenly, a group of tough looking men started
 shooting at them from behind.  They Sailor Senshi ran up the flight of 
stairs to the roof, which, by the way, was the thirtieth floor.  By the
 time the girls reached there, they were just a _little_ tired.  The 
Mafia was still behind them.

"Hand over the violin," the leader of the group said, cornering them to
 the edge of the roof.  He was being extremely generous, probably since 
he didn't want to damage an incredibly expensive violin.

Neptune looked over her shoulder to see how far below the ground was.
  Pretty far, considering that they were on the thirtieth floor.  
They just had to take the chance.

All of a sudden, a large whirling sound filled the night air and an
 unexpected wind blew.

"Hey, Uranus!  Neptune!" a familiar female voice shouted from above.

Everyone looked up to see a large helicopter flying above their heads.
  Uranus and Neptune could see that the pilot was...

Setsuna?!  What was she doing here?

The gunmen were staring at her in shock.  Uranus took her advantage.
  "World Shaking!" she shouted.  Her power blasted some men to the 
ground and caused others to tumble off the building.

"Grab this!" Setsuna shouted at them, throwing down a roped ladder. 
 The other two complied and took hold of it.  They started climbing
 up.  Then some MORE guys came running out on and started shooting 
at them.

"There must be an inexhaustible supply of these guys or 
something," Uranus muttered.

Setsuna lifted the helicopter higher into the air and away from the 
building.  By then, Neptune and Uranus had made their way into the
 cabin.

"Hi, you two," Setsuna said, smiling.  "Nothing like a midnight robbery
 and being shot at to get your blood pumping, huh?"

"Right," Uranus said.  "By the way, how on earth did you get to Italy?
  How did you know that we were even here?"

"I'll tell you guys later," Setsuna said.  "Right now, we need to get
 out of here and get back to Tokyo right away."

"Right," Neptune said distractedly.  She was examining her precious 
violin.  "It's beautiful," she breathed.  "Thanks, Haruka, for going 
along with this."

"No problem, Michiru," Uranus answered dryly.  "I just love living on 
the edge of danger."  Neptune didn't hear her, but Setsuna smiled.

The next day, Kaioh Michiru and Tenoh Haruka checked out of the hotel,
 Michiru carrying a violin case protectively underneath her arm.  They
 flew back to Tokyo safely with Setsuna, encountering no more mobsters.

______________________________________________________________________


"That's basically it," Michiru said.  She brought out her violin case. 
 Opening the clasps, she took out the precious Stradivari violin.  
"This is the thing that's causing all the trouble," she said as she 
ran her fingers delicately over the intricate wood.

"So you _stole_ a Stradivari violin from the Italian Mafia who is now
 after you and wants to kill you?" Usagi almost screeched.

Michiru and Haruka looked at each other briefly.  Michiru shrugged.  
"That's about right."

"That's great," Mamoru said sarcastically underneath his breath.
  He was still holding a very shocked Usagi.

Haruka glanced at the mirror in the front of the car.  "Looks like we
 have some company, Michiru."

Michiru looked at the mirror too.  "It appears so."

"What's happening?" Mamoru demanded.

"That car behind us has been following us for the last half hour," 
Haruka said casually.  "It's probably from the Mafia after us.  I 
guess we can't go home right yet."

"I suppose we should try to lose them," Michiru said.

"Okay," Haruka replied.

"Why are you guys so calm?" Usagi asked, a little hysterical.  She was
 hyperventilating.

"We've been through worse positions before," Haruka said, smiling a 
little.  "And then, we were against monsters and invincible creatures
 of enormous strength."

"Don't worry, Princess," Michiru said soothingly, smiling softly.  
"We'll make sure that you and the Prince make it out all right.  That's
 our mission, after all.  To protect you two, no matter what."

Haruka started driving faster.  The car behind them increased their speed
 too.  She turned onto a street that had quite a few cars.  She sped up,
 and swerved around the cars ahead of her.  Unfortunately the black car 
stalking them did likewise.  Haruka turned the car onto a deserted road 
leading up a dangerously steep cliff.  As soon as they were there, she 
pushed the pedal to the limit.

Behind them, the car windows rolled down.  Mobsters popped their machine
 guns out and started shooting like crazy at Haruka's yellow car.

"Damnit," Haruka swore.  "Everybody get down!"

Mamoru pushed Usagi down, protecting her with his body.  Michiru bent 
down to avoid the incoming bullets that flew through the back window.

Haruka drove as fast as she could up the mountain.  The road winded and
 twisted like a snake's coiled body.  (Whoo hoo!  Simile!)  The car was
 right behind them, shooting about a hundred bullets per minute.  Haruka
 had to steer as best as she could while still moving fast.

"No problem, Haruka," she whispered to herself.  "It's just like racing."

The car skidded on the unpaved road and would have gone out of control 
had it not been for Haruka's fast reflexes.  Fortunately, the car 
behind her wasn't doing too much better.  Unfortunately, it wasn't doing
 bad enough.

"Haruka!" Michiru said.  "How are we going to get rid of them?"

"I have a plan," Haruka said, as she steered the car out of the way of
 a huge rock on the road.  "Mamoru!"

The dark haired man looked up, then bumped his head against the car 
ceiling after the car ran through a large pot hole.  "What?"

"I need you to throw some of your roses at that car!" Haruka said.  
"Can you do that?"

Mamoru looked at the other car for a second, then answered 
affirmatively.  "Yeah, I can do it."

"Michiru," Haruka said, "You have to transform into Neptune right now.
  Even though it's crowded, we need her powers."

The green haired girl nodded.  "Neptune Planet Power, Make Up!"  She
 transformed into Sailor Neptune, albeit in a cramped and uncomfortable
 manner.

"Start throwing them, Mamoru," Haruka ordered as she looked into the
 mirror at the car.

"Be careful," Usagi whispered.

Mamoru gave her a quick kiss.  Then he rolled down the window and threw
 the roses at the gangsters' car.  The roses got onto the glass and 
their petals blocked the driver's view of the road.  The driver swerved
 the car, and it came dangerously close to the edge of the road.  There
 were no railings along the road.

"Umph!" Mamoru said as he quickly drew his head back into the car, just
 as a bullet whizzed through the air.  "That was too close!"  He resumed
 his rose throwing.

"Michiru!" Haruka said as she concentrated on driving.

The Sailor Senshi opened the car door.  (Yes, it's still driving 
incredibly fast!)  Holding on tightly, she closed her eyes and took a
 deep breath.  Then she leaned out of the door.  "Deep Submerge!" she
 shouted at the car.

The water ball streamed from her hands.  It hit the left side of car 
hard.  The driver, whose vision was still blocked by the stupid rose 
petals, lost control of the steering wheel.  The car veered to the 
right, and skidded of the side of the road.  Neptune could hear the 
fearful screams of the men as they plunged to their deaths.

Neptune quickly reentered the car, slamming the door shut, breathing 
hard.  Haruka slowly stopped the car.  Then the four got out and 
looked over the side of the cliff.  They could faintly see the wreckage
 of a car at the bottom of the ground.  Usagi was trembling, Mamoru 
with a comforting arm around her.  Haruka and Neptune watched them, 
unreadable expressions on their faces.

We could have died, Neptune realized suddenly.  I mean _really_ died.
  It wasn't as trivial as I said it was.  It wasn't like some monster
 hurt us a little or anything.  Just a few well placed bullets, and 
one of us could have never seen a new day again...And it would have 
been all my fault.  Because of my selfishness.

"Let's get out of here," Haruka said finally, her voice soft.  The 
others nodded their agreement.  They climbed into the car.  Haruka 
carefully turned the car around on the narrow road, and they drove 
back to Mamoru's apartment.  The car was silent as each sat thinking
 about the night's events.

"Here we are," Haruka said as they pulled up to Mamoru's apartment.
  "Good night."

Usagi and Mamoru got out and walked slowly to the door of the 
building.

"Princess..." Michiru said softly.

The blond girl turned around.  "Yes, Michiru-san?"

"I'm sorry...for all of this.  I wish that I hadn't..."

Usagi studied her face.  It was quiet and vulnerable, her eyes filled
 with guilt and worry.  It was a side of Michiru that she had never
 seen before.  All of Usagi's tension melted away from her body.  She
 smiled gently.  "It's okay, Michiru-san.  I understand.  Good night."

"Good night," Michiru echoed.

The yellow car drove away from the two standing on the street, watching
 them until they were no more than a speck on the horizon.

Meanwhile, the two girls in the car were silent.  Finally Michiru spoke,
 her head faced towards the window.

"Haruka, you must be blaming me for what happened, and I can only hope
 that you can forgive me..."

"Forgive you for what?" Haruka asked, genuinely surprised.

"...For wanting the violin.  If I hadn't wanted to steal it, this never
 would have happened."

Haruka smiled lightly, her eyes filled with warmth.  "Michiru, don't 
apologize.  I don't blame you.  You know that I love you.  I'd do 
anything for you, even risk getting killed for some silly trinket."

Michiru looked at her.  "So you don't blame me?"

Haruka laughed gently.  "That's what I just said.  Michiru, no matter
 what happens to us, I'll always love you.  Remember that."  She kissed
 her softly on the cheek.

Michiru smiled back.  "Thank you." 

"For what?"

" ...For everything."

The End

Is it just me, or does this seem like a cop-out ending?:)  Hey, I'm 
busy writing four fanfics at the same time as this one, OK?  Does it
 look like I have time to think of incredibly GOOD endings?
